John Wayne Porter

Services for long time area resident John Porter will be held at Life Church, Pilot Rock, Oregon on Saturday July 27, 2024 at 11:00AM with a luncheon fellowship time to follow.

John Porter was born to Raymond "Tucker" Melvin Porter and Nila Mabel (Tuttle) Porter on March 10, 1945 at Saint Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. John and his two older siblings attended school in Pilot Rock where he excelled in football, basketball and track. In the middle of his junior year of high school at Pilot Rock, John's parents moved to Buttercreek. So John finished his high school years graduating from Heppner High School in 1963. Because of his great athleticism, John was selected to play in the Shriner's East West Football game in Baker, Oregon in 1963. 

After completing his high school education John purchased and ran a filling station in Pilot Rock for a few years. After that he worked as a produce manager in Pilot Rock and in Burns. In 1969 John married Gayle Weyland and the couple was blessed with two children; son Jon who was born in 1969 and daughter Angela who arrived in 1971. Then in 1975 John moved his little family from Burns, Oregon to Hermiston where he assume the Produce Manager's job for Safeway. The family resided there until the couple's marriage ended in 1983.

For many years John suffered from severe back pain and while he was working at Safeway doctors discovered he had an extra vertebrae causing serious back misalignment. None of the doctor's options gave any promise, so he was declared disabled while in his forties. Even though he was in pain a great deal, John was still able to work in an advisory role with Walmart by helping them set up their produce departments in their stores all over Eastern Oregon. One of the great blessings in John's life took place when he and Saundra Erickson exchanged their vows of marriage on July 6, 2013 at Grace Baptist Church in Pendleton, Oregon. 

Less than a year later, John was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was given two to eight years to live at the most. He far exceeded the doctor's most optimistic predictions and remained active for the years that followed. His early years were filled with fast cars and living on the cutting edge of danger. And throughout his lifetime, John was an avid hunter, loved to shoot and for some years operated as a licensed gun dealer. 

On Monday morning, July 15, 2024, John Porter graduated into heaven. He is survived by his wife Saundra Porter; his son Jon Porter and his stepson Bunn Erickson; his daughter Angela Ferneau; his stepdaughter Sheri Portman and husband Bob; his sister Joyce Whitely and grandchildren Christian and Koree. The family wished to express their deepest thanks and appreciation to Engrace Hospice of Pendleton, Oregon.